MPs support colleges’ calls for higher pay for lecturers

New
research shows strong support from backbenchers for colleges’ claims that the
pay of college lecturers should at least equal that of schoolteachers.

The
Harris MPs Panel report shows that 91 per cent of MPs think college lecturers
should be paid the same or more than schoolteachers, who currently earn an average
12 per cent more.

MPs
also overwhelmingly support giving colleges the same or more funding for
providing a standard 3 A-level package. At the moment, colleges receive some 20
per cent less per student.

Commenting
on the research, David Gibson, chief executive of the Association of Colleges,
said: “MPs of all parties are overwhelmingly backing what we have been arguing
about for months. The Government cannot have a seamless 14-19 education system
while college lecturers working alongside their school counterparts are being
paid so much less.

"One
of the reasons for the pay inequality is that colleges themselves are paid
£1,000 less per year per student for delivering the same 3 A-level package.”

The
panel also reveals that 75 per cent of MPs support the national introduction of
Educational Maintenance Allowances for 16-19 year olds from poor families.